11/07/2022
Coach of the Year
I want to give my sincere thanks to USA Karate for naming me Coach of the Year 2022 🙏
I might receive the award, however, the credit goes to all of my Sensei, coaches, mentors, and family who have supported me.
Everyone has their own path, but my journey starts with awesome genetics from my dad, Bob Allen (former US National Team Captain), and mom, Noriko Ikeda (former World Champion - kata). They gave me such a solid foundation in Karate, and I appreciate that they never let me quit, even though I wanted to many times.
I was fortunate enough to have been on, in my opinion, the greatest US National Karate team in history. Coaches Tokey Hill and Hideharu Igaki always believed in me and my ability, no matter the opponent.
I then hit the lottery having been trained extensively by Seiji Nishimura (Japan National Team ) for a year in Japan, Angel Arenas (Spanish National Team) for the last decade, and in recent years, kumite guru, Tareq Abdesselem (Kazakhstan National Team) and the kumite maestro, Saeid Ahmadi (Iran National Team). Countless hours have been spent training and discussing the evolution of modern era kumite, and brainstorming the methodology of building Karate athletes. I have loved and cherished every second of time with these mentors, and I look forward to learning more.
In order to optimize my physical performance, I was trained and worked under Dave Richardson (University of Miami/Ohio St. University/Arkansas University) as a Strength & Conditioning graduate assistant, pursuing my Masters degree in Exercise Physiology. My “job” was training with the football team in the Spring, then basketball team in the Fall, for more than 4 years (undergrad/grad). Also, I had the opportunity to be mentored by Tim McClellan (Arizona St.), furthering my Strength & Conditioning education, guiding me on the elite athlete mindset. I can’t leave out Tim Thackrey, who has been instrumental in sharpening our programming and bringing insight into the latest trends on Strength & Conditioning, specifically for combat sport athletes. Both Tims have spent many hours talking and texting on the phone, pushing me out of my comfort zones.
To further my pursuit of excellence, I pursued and earned a Masters degree in Performance Psychology. By a fortuitous event, I was befriended by Dr. Bradley Donohue (UNLV - TOPPS founder) and have been using his performance psychology model to train and enhance mental skills for optimum performance for my students. Dr. Donohue and I will continue expanding the TOPPS program to all athletes and high performers.
Without the support of my family, especially my incredible wife, Anh Mary Allen, I would not have been able to accomplish 1/10 of what I have. From the many hours of teaching, vacations that are always karate related, to the inception and hosting of the USA Open for more than 10 years at Caesars Palace in our home city of Las Vegas, Mary has been my rock and go to person for any and all situations.
Pivotal coaches and mentors, Randy Couture (UFC), Herb Perez (TKD Olympic Gold Medalist), Jelena Kobačevíc Herrera (Croatia Karate) Nicole Poirier (Canada Karate), Edmond Otis (Karate), John Kinyanjui (Kenyan TKD National Team), Chris Ben-Tchavtchavadze (Boxing), Luis Monda (Boxing), Renzo Asparria Urteaga (Judo), Dan Sisson (Judo).
Therapists Lisa Agnew, Der-How Huang, Jason Han
Last, recognition of my coaching would not have happened without the amazing success of my daughter, US National team member, Trinity Allen. In a whirlwind year, Trinity has risen from an unknown to an overnight international sensation. Trinity is a product of everything I would have ever wanted in Karate training, plus, the amalgamation of ideas and thoughts of how to train a Karate athlete. Her trust and belief in the process is what gives me credibility and validation in being a mad scientist, and I cannot thank her enough for allowing me to design my dream.
There are many others I am leaving out, and I apologize for doing so. For everyone that has donated to our GoFundMe campaigns to Zach and Jennifer Rice, Trinity’s Multipure sponsors, I am forever grateful that you were able to keep us afloat and enabled us to travel to international competitions.
I believe in the phrase, “it takes a village to raise a child”, as I could not have been successful without so many’s generous time and effort; however, what makes it priceless is all the fun and laughter along the way.
From the bottom of my heart, thanks to everyone 🙇♂️❤️
